I totally disagree on it being futile. Within the next 100 years man-made robots will be harvesting materials on the Moon, in the Asteroid Belt and maybe as far afield as Saturn. Humans ourselves aren't going anywhere soon, but as materials on Earth get harder to mine without serious destruction of the habitat, going up and out for what we need is the only way forward.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Oil on Titan!
- Thread starter ebow
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
You are right on with this. I am not saying we wouldn't have some of the techonogical things we have now, but we certainly would be years behind where we are now had we not been in the space race in the 50's and 60's.
Not to mention, the more we know about how the solar system formed the more we will be able to understand some of the things going on with our planet.
compared to what some countries spend in their "defense" budgets this is peanuts
that said i have to chuckle every-time the "it's no use to the common man" thread comes along ... just like with the beating of the dead horse called quantum physics where there are still in the year 2008 some people who think it's "a waste of money" ...
that said i have to chuckle every-time the "it's no use to the common man" thread comes along ... just like with the beating of the dead horse called quantum physics where there are still in the year 2008 some people who think it's "a waste of money" ...
The arguments against space exploration are bogus anyway.
1) "Spend the money here on Earth" is silly--the money doesn't get launched into space or anything. It stays on our planet, continues to circulate in our economy, and doesn't go anywhere.
2) "It should be spent on social problems" is also silly--in case you haven't noticed by now, throwing money at social problems doesn't fix them. So even if every last cent were redirected toward social programs, the human condition wouldn't improve noticeably, except we'd be even more ignorant than we are now. Yay. No, the money should be spent on space exploration, where it actually does make a measurable difference, especially since the amount isn't really very much in the first place, relatively speaking.
3) "What's the practical value?"--you honestly have no intellectual curiosity about the universe you live in? All you care about is your next meal or something? Sorry, but that's no way for a human to live. We often end up with practical stuff as a byproduct of the exploration anyway, and there are quite a few arguments to be made along those lines, but that's not the main point. The knowledge is worth more.
--Eric
1) "Spend the money here on Earth" is silly--the money doesn't get launched into space or anything. It stays on our planet, continues to circulate in our economy, and doesn't go anywhere.
2) "It should be spent on social problems" is also silly--in case you haven't noticed by now, throwing money at social problems doesn't fix them. So even if every last cent were redirected toward social programs, the human condition wouldn't improve noticeably, except we'd be even more ignorant than we are now. Yay. No, the money should be spent on space exploration, where it actually does make a measurable difference, especially since the amount isn't really very much in the first place, relatively speaking.
3) "What's the practical value?"--you honestly have no intellectual curiosity about the universe you live in? All you care about is your next meal or something? Sorry, but that's no way for a human to live. We often end up with practical stuff as a byproduct of the exploration anyway, and there are quite a few arguments to be made along those lines, but that's not the main point. The knowledge is worth more.
--Eric
Indeed. For one, there is more that we don't know about the universe (and existence, in general) than we do know. And two, I think it's fair to say that a majority of people are afraid/unable to get out of their comfort zone regarding their understanding of the universe we live in. But I don't think that we should hold ourselves back because of it.
Back on topic....Liquid Methane? Wake me when NASA confirms liquid water on Europa. Now, that would truly be a discovery...there's evidence that liquid water exists based on images from a passing probe. However, landing on Europa and drilling would be the only way to confirm it. The existence of a liquid water ocean on another planet (rather, moon) would truly be something that has ramifications for humanity....
You've also got to remember the enormous concentration of talent that NASA attracts. If the world's brightest scientists would turn their attention to issues such as alternate energy sources, or the theoretical like fusion, then a lot could be achieved.
But that's besides the point. We're talking about space exploration, and as others have said, we are simply nowhere near ready enough to make purposeful strides in that department yet, either technologically or socially.
complain all you want but you need to relieze that the space program still has had the highest return on the investment. For every dollar into the space program history has shown we gotten 4 dollars out.
You can thank the space program for the computer you are using, for your cheap calculator, velcro and so on. Many of these things where invented or improved apon in many ways a direct need for the space program.
We have satilights in orbit, GPS and so on all because of the space program and what it pushed for us. if anything it shows that goverment funding rather crazy things like OMG going to space has some insane turn arounds for us not to far down the road.
^^ as I have already stated for clarity (which obviously I need to state again) my arguments are with the validity of space travel specifically, not the advancements and so forth which the space program itself has brought.
Well, you were still wrong. Tim-Berners-Lee did not invent the internet, he invented the World Wide Web. The internet was a construct of the U.S. military, universities, and corporations. Remember the movie WarGames? That had the internet on it, and it was made well before 1993.
I located the following from wiki.
". The first ARPANET link was established between the University of California, Los Angeles and the Stanford Research Institute on 22:30 hours on October 29, 1969."
It's been around awhile.
Just one of the many spin-offs related to military/NASA funded research.
". The first ARPANET link was established between the University of California, Los Angeles and the Stanford Research Institute on 22:30 hours on October 29, 1969."
It's been around awhile.
Just one of the many spin-offs related to military/NASA funded research.
But what happens when the Cylons attack? You of all people should know we need a good Battlestar around to get away from them!
My thoughts... Well, we need to spend the money and lay the groundwork for the future. To cancel everything would get us nowhere fast, literally. For every advancement made, humans have stumbled and studied and progressed, ultimately culminating in major "leaps for mankind." Who knows when our space exploration will find something that changes our world forever. Maybe it'll be aliens, maybe time travel, maybe another dimension... And maybe for centuries we just find more rocks. That's why they call it exploration.